


Remember when Ruby was Kicked out?

by Ravenloft_Resident



Category: RWBY
Genre: Ruby Disappears, Ruby kicked out, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:21:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22910917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenloft_Resident/pseuds/Ravenloft_Resident
Summary: Ruby was kicked out of team RWBY. What happens next?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Remember when Ruby was Kicked out?

Outside, it was raining. Ruby supposed that given the mood of the room, it was an accurate weather forecast. Ruby stood with her back to the door, her three other teammates looking at her, mixed looks of frustration, disappointment, and contempt on their faces. She knew that they’d had mixed feelings about her since they were teamed up, and she was made team captain. Yang, though she had been subtle about it, had been a little disappointed that she’d been put in a team with her sister. Blake had always been cold and distant, acknowledging her skills but still not taking her very seriously because of her age. And Weiss, Weiss had never been quiet about her contempt for the younger girl, even after their tense agreement she’d always bemoaned the fact that she hadn’t been made team captain and criticized Ruby for getting in even though she was so young. 

Stepping forward slightly, Weiss told her, “Ruby, I know that we’ve been through a lot, and you’ve done your due diligence as our team leader, but we’ve all decided that it would be best if you left. Trouble seems to follow you everywhere we go and sometimes your antics prevent us from getting stuff done if we need to do it.”

Ruby stared, feeling hurt curl up like a vicious worm in her stomach. She knew they’d had mixed feelings but this? “But Weiss…” Ruby started to say. 

“No, Ruby,” Blake stepped in, “we’ve all come to the decision that we’d be better off if you left. Don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

Looking away, Yang dealt the final blow, “Your things are packed and waiting on your bed.”

Looking up, Ruby saw that they had indeed packed her bags. Her heart hurt at the sight. Seeing that she wasn’t doing anything, Weiss let out a sigh and grabbed the bags, dropping them at her feet. She felt tears well up in her eyes. “You all...?” she asked, barely able to get the words out. 

They nodded, Yang looking guiltier than the rest. Forcing the tears down, she nodded and said, “okay. I won’t bother trying to change your minds. I can see they’ve been made up already.”

Picking up her bags and Crescent Rose, she opened the door and walked out, head down. She heard her door shut behind her and flinched. She started to walk down the hallway, glad that no one was there to see her, to question her. Of course, that luck wouldn’t stay the same when she walked into the living room. She heard Team JNPR before she saw them. Walking faster, she hoped that they wouldn’t see her, that they wouldn’t look up and question what she was doing. She could barely keep in her tears as it was. Unfortunately, she was called out to by Jaune, “Hey! Ruby!”

His voice sounded happy and cheerful as if he was glad to see her. She looked back slightly, seeing him getting up to meet her. Then, she made eye contact and watched as his face went from happiness to concern as he saw the look on her face and in her eyes. “Ruby?” He asked, voice full of concern. 

As she felt her composure slipping, she told him, “Hey, Jaune. It’s nice to see you but… I have to go.”

She started trying to walk away when she heard four sets of footsteps approaching her and felt a hand on her shoulder. Desperate to keep herself from showing how upset she was, she kept her head down and forced her shoulders to not shake. “Ruby, what’s wrong?” Ren asked kindly. 

“I-it’s nothing,” she told him, voice shaking a little bit. 

“Ruby, no one walks through here with packed bags without a reason,” Pyrrha told her. 

“It’s n-nothing. I promise,” she said, barely able to hold onto her composure anymore.

They were silent for a few seconds before she felt someone hug her. She knew it was Jaune, he must have walked in front of her. “Ruby, what’s going on?” He asked.   
Weakly, she tried to push away from him, wanting to leave quickly so as to not breakdown right here in front of her friends. He didn’t let her though, just kept holding her. When she felt the rest of Team JNPR join in the hug, she broke. She buried her face in Jaune’s chest, hoping that no one saw her crying. But she knew that her shoulders were shaking. As her legs gave out, she felt herself get lowered to the ground, Jaune never letting her go. She continued to sob, wishing that the tears would end. As they held her, she sobbed out that her team had told her to leave. She told them about how they’d been treating her when no one else was there. After a while, her tears finally died down and she kept apologizing for crying all over them. Jaune gently held her out by her shoulders and told her, “Don’t worry about it.”

She stood up, thanking them for listening to her before starting to walk off again. “Wait,” Nora called, “Ruby, where are you going?” 

Ruby looked back, confused. “Umm, I’m… leaving?” she said, confused. 

“Why?” Ren asked, still looking concerned. 

Ruby sighed, “Because other than you four, I know that no one wants me here. I’m grateful that I was able to stay for as long as I have, but I think that it’s time for me to leave.”

She gave them a watery smile before saying, “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to stop. I’m a huntress, afterall.”

They stared at her. “Why are you giving up this easily?” Pyrrha asked, sounding upset. 

“I’m not giving up,” Ruby said, suddenly bitter. “I’m just making a decision that is going to be better in the end.”

They looked surprised by the tone in her voice. “We can’t stop you, can we?” Jaune asked bitterly. 

Ruby shook her head, smiling ruefully. “I promise I’ll keep in touch. Professor Ozpin is out at the moment, so if you see him can you give him this?” she asked, holding out a small disk.

They shook their heads. Tears filling her eyes, Nora jumped on her saying, “I’m gonna miss you, Ruby!”

Hugging her back, Ruby replied, “I’m gonna miss you too Nora.”

Stepping back, she looked at all of them and said, “I’m going to miss all of you. You’re the reason I’ve stayed here this long. I’m sorry that we have to part like this, but I have a good feeling we’ll see each other again someday. Try to stay out of trouble for me, will you?”

She smiled at them. Jaune was barely holding it together, Pyrrha was openly weeping, Nora was clinging on to Ren her shoulders shaking with sobs, and Ren, the always stoic young man, had a few tears running down his face, a testament to how he was feeling. Opening her arms, she offered them one last hug, which they took without hesitation. When all of them pulled away, she whispered one last goodbye before walking the rest of the way to the door. When she saw the rain outside, she put her backpack on her back over Crescent Rose and pulled her hood up before walking into the rain. The members of Team JNPR watched sadly as she left, mourning the loss of their friend. They watched as her cloak snapped behind her in the wind, the rugged edges flailing behind her before she disappeared completely, not to be seen again for some time. 

Nora started crying again and Jaune pulled Pyrrha into a hug, holding her as she cried. They couldn’t believe this was happening. Ruby was one of their best friends. They’d never thought down on her because of her age, they respected her for her incredible combat abilities and loved her for her infectious personality. They were all so grateful for what she’d done for them. She’d helped them with homework, she’d sat up with them when they couldn’t sleep, she’d helped Jaune find his confidence to be a leader. She’d done so much for them… and now, she was gone, and they’d never be able to repay her. They were all shocked that team WBY had done that to her. They’d known that they’d had their issues but to this extent? They’d had no idea. 

“I… I can’t believe she’s gone,” Nora said, her usual upbeat personality seeming to abandon her. 

“I know,” Jaune said, voice choked with emotions. “I can’t either.”

The team looked at each other. “I cannot continue to be friends with them anymore,” Pyrrha said, bluntly. 

Ren nodded. “I’m not normally one for cutting off connections, but it seems that they aren’t who I thought they were,” he commented quietly. 

Jaune stood in front of them, determination on his face. “You know what?” He started. “I think that this isn’t what Ruby would want. We’ve had our time to be upset, and we can still mourn the fact that she left, but now, we just need to keep going. We can’t give up and let this get in the way of us being the best hunters and huntresses we can be.”

The others looked at each other, then nodded. Now, they were more determined than ever to become the best. They would beat every other team that came before them, they would become stronger than anyone else. But they would also remain humble, and never forget that they had all come from the same place. They all had different starting points. And now, they all had the same motivation, the same drive. They would continue the legacy that Ruby had started here at Beacon, a legacy of creating peace and remaining strong. And most importantly, they would never, ever, forget the bright, smiling girl who they could no longer go to school with. 

The next day, Ozpin was doing paperwork in his office, drinking coffee when all of a sudden, he heard a knock on the door. Startled, he set his pen down and called, “come in.”  
To his growing surprise, the members of Team JNPR walked in, looking a mix of upset and determined. When they were all standing in front of him, he said, “and how can I help you today?”

After a moment, Jaune stepped forward, a disk in his hand and told him, “Sir, we… we were told to give you this.”

Carefully taking the disk, he set it down on his desk and pressed a small button, starting a holographic recording. Ruby appeared before them, smiling sadly. “Professor Ozpin, team JNPR. If you are watching this, then it means I have left because of the inevitability that my team decided to kick me out after all. I’m sorry for not coming to any of you with this sooner, but I thought I would be able to change things before it got to this point. Clearly, it didn’t. I’m sorry that this is the way that we have to leave things, I truly didn’t intend to leave like this. I hope that you, team JNPR, will continue to become the best of our future huntsmen and huntresses. I can’t wait to see what you do and the accomplishments that I know you’ll get. Professor Ozpin, I want to tell you that all of the training you’ve given me won’t go to waste. I’m still going to keep trying to do good, in whatever way I can. I hope that this won’t be the last that we see of each other, but who knows? A lot of things can happen over time,” she smiled brightly at them. “So, with these last words, I bid you all farewell!”

The recording ended and the holographic figure disappeared, leaving the room silent. Ozpin, for all his wisdom and knowledge was silent. That clearly hadn’t been what he was expecting, and he didn’t seem to know how to respond to it. Pyrrha and Nora seemed to be barely holding in tears, Ren was looking upset, and Jaune had an odd, emotionless look on his face. Finally snapping out of his reverie, Ozpin looked at the four students and asked, “can one of you explain how this happened?”

“Ruby’s team kicked her out. Weiss because she thought Ruby was too young and inexperienced and is still upset that she wasn’t made leader, Yang because she felt like her sister was just dragging her down and was getting sick of her, and Blake because all she could see was a child who didn’t belong,” Jaune told him bitterly. 

“I will have to have a talk with them,” Ozpin sighed. “Do any of you know where she might be right now?”

They shook their heads. “No,” Ren admitted, “we’re sorry professor, but we couldn’t have done anything to stop her, as much as we may have wanted to. She said goodbye to us before disappearing into the rain.”

Ozpin sighed again. “Very well. Thank you for bringing this to me, I’m sorry that this has happened. If you see them, please send team WBY up to my office. I think it’s time for a discussion to be had,” he told them. 

They nodded. Now, they just had to approach them and not get pissed. They wondered what Sun and Neptune would think. Both of them were staying in town because of the Vytal festival being so close, something else that bothered them. Why would they cut her out of the team so close… unless… they’d told her to leave because they wanted to win and they thought she’d drag them down! At that thought, Jaune growled. When his teammates looked at him, he explained his realization to them. They got dark looks on their faces as they realized that that must have been one of the reasons. “I can’t believe them!” Nora shouted, unusual anger in her voice. 

“Woah,” a surprised voice said, “is that anger I hear? I didn’t think Nora would be capable of that.”

They turned and saw Sun and Neptune walking up to them, clearly coming from some sort of sparring match if the way they were sweating was anything to go by. “Oh, hey guys,” Nora said, still upset. 

Frowning, Neptune asked, “what’s wrong? You guys all seem agitated. Come to think of it, team RWBY seemed different too. Have any of you seen Ruby by the way? She’d agreed to talk to our team about using our weapons to better fit our semblances.”

Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren all got dark looks on their face, looking at each other. “Umm, guys?” Sun asked, an odd look of concern on his face, “is everything okay?”

“No,” Nora shouted. 

“Nora,” Ren half-heartedly warned.

“No, I agree. They should probably know,” Jaune said. 

Pyrrha let out a sigh and turned to them, saying, “Ruby won’t be able to help you.”

Neptune and Sun were both concerned now. They hadn’t known any of them for very long but, like almost everyone else who’d met her, they’d formed a bond with her. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to her?” Sun asked. 

“She’s gone,” Jaune spit out bitterly. “She was kicked off of her team because the others saw her as a burden and too young. Last night, we saw her walking through the common room of our dorm. I was going to talk to her, but we noticed how upset she was so we tried to figure out what was wrong. A few minutes later she broke down and told us what her team had done. Then, she told us goodbye and promised that we’d see each other again. She left when it was raining. The last we saw of her was her cloak flapping in the wind.”

Neptune and Sun stared at them, horrified. “Wait, you mean…” Sun trailed off, his normal demeanor becoming upset. 

“She’s… she’s gone?” Neptune asked, sounding upset. 

The team nodded. “We were actually just going to get team WBY. Ozpin wanted to talk to them,” Pyrrha told them. 

Sun and Neptune nodded. “Mind if we tag along? I don’t think either of us knows what to do now..” Neptune told them hesitantly. 

“Of course!” Nora said, voice bright for the first time in a while. “We can spar with you guys!”

Neptune and Sun looked at each other before shrugging. “Might as well,” Sun said, smirking. 

~Later with team WBY~

When team WBY had been told they had been summoned by the headmaster, they were understandably confused. What was this about? No one thought too much about it as they walked to the headmasters office, choosing instead to chat about some training techniques they wanted to try. As they went up the elevator, Yang began to wonder more about why they were being called. Was it about the fight in the docks? Did they have more questions? Was it.. Was it maybe about Ruby? They’d been rather harsh, she knew, but none of them really regretted it. It was probably for the better anyways, right? When they knocked on the door, they heard a terse, “come in.”

When they walked in, they saw Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, Professor Oobleck, and Professor Port standing behind Ozpin’s desk. “Come, sit down,” Ozpin gestured to the three chairs in front of his desk. 

A moment of silence passed before the headmaster asked, “do you know why you’re here?” 

They shook their heads. “Well, let me explain it to you then,” Professor Goodwitch ground out. “You’re here because of what you did to Ruby last night.”

“Ladies, what were you thinking?” Professor Port asked, sounding exasperated. 

“What do you mean?” Weiss asked indignantly. 

“Why did you tell Miss Rose to leave?” Professor Ozpin asked sternly. 

“Because she’s a child,” Blake told them bluntly. 

“Sure, she can fight but she acts like a child and doesn’t contribute much to our team,” Weiss added. 

Yang looked down. “I should have said something,” she said, realization coursing through her. “Sure, she’s young, but she’s proven that she’s worthy of being here. She’s proven that she’s capable, more capable than some of the other second years. Weiss, just because she has a more sporadic style than you doesn’t mean she’s any less worthy. Her semblance is speed. Of course she’s going to move a bit faster than the rest of us. I… I’m so sorry professors. I should have said something.”

She put her head in her hands. “She’s my sister for god's sake. How could I do that to her?” She asked. 

“Apologizing to us doesn’t bring her back, does it?” Goodwitch snapped. 

“What happens now?” Yang asked, Blake and Weiss having been shocked into silence. 

“Well, you’ll all be in detention for two weeks. You will continue to work together as a team, it would be too difficult to split you up now. However, I hope you know the consequences your actions have. You have lost Beacon an exceptional student, and person. You have caused several people to lose a friend simply because none of you could see past your own feelings and acted rashly instead of sitting and talking about it like a team would,” Ozpin told them. “You are dismissed.”

Yang stood numbly. She needed to apologize. She knew there was a reason that team JNPR had been acting off. They must have seen Ruby before she left. She had to apologize. It would never make things up to them, she knew, but at the very least, they would know. Weiss and Blake walked into the elevator silently, probably not knowing what to say. It took them until they were walking out of the elevator for Weiss to say, “how could you say that? Didn’t you agree with our decision?” 

Yang whirled on them, anger in her eyes and tears on her face. “No, not entirely. I knew it was wrong, but honestly I was so caught up by your emotions that I made a stupid decision. I can’t believe that I agreed. I’m her sister! I’m supposed to stand by her, no matter what!”

Blake snorted, “oh, come on Yang! You know we’ll be better off without her in the end.”

“Better off?” Yang yelled, “BETTER OFF? She was the glue that held this damn team together! You say she contributed nothing, but who was always trying to cheer everyone up? Who was the one who helped us come up with some of our best moves? Who was the one who managed to help us get the connections and information that we do? IT WAS   
RUBY!” 

Yang turned and stormed off, anger and sadness filling her. She had been dumb to say Ruby should go. She was almost glad that no one was there on the way back to the gym. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this, angry and teary. When she got to the arena area, she heard what sounded like team JNPR, Sun and Neptune, probably working out. She wouldn’t blame them if they never wanted to talk to her or her team again. God, how could she have been so stupid? What the hell had compelled her to agree with Blake and Weiss? How could she go so low? How could she do that? Was she really that bad of a person? Shoving the door open, she held her head high, not bothering to get rid of her tears and walked past the others, ignoring the fact that they’d gone quiet at the sight of her. She walked over to one of the industrial-strength punching bags that had been put in for people who had semblances like hers and started to wale on it. 

She kept getting angrier and more upset as she attacked the bag, trying to stop feeling the emotions that were coursing through her like a wildfire. Even though her semblance wasn’t activated, she still had a lot of power behind her hits. She hit the bag as much as she could, as hard as she could, channeling her anger and frustration through the hits. Tears continued to stream down her face, and behind her she heard the fighting pick back up as they decided it was probably best to leave her alone. The longer she hit it, the angrier she got at herself. She had no way to justify her actions, not a single damn excuse. And now, Ruby was out there, by herself, doing who knows what. As she pictured Ruby, she felt an overwhelming sadness consume her, causing her to fall to her knees and start sobbing. 

She heard a cry of “YANG!” from the people behind her. Unsurprisingly, Weiss and Blake weren’t there, probably off doing something else. The footsteps that she heard running towards her suddenly stopped, but she couldn’t bring herself to care, too upset to react to anything. She felt a hand on her shoulder, startling her enough to look up. In front of her was Jaune, conflicting looks of concern and anger on his face. Seeing him, and knowing the others were probably near caused her eyes to well up again. “I’m so, so sorry,” she cried, not able to look at him anymore. 

“I know that I can’t excuse my actions, I can’t even justify them to myself, but god, I am so, so sorry,” she continued. 

She was about to say something else when, all of a sudden, she was pulled into a tight hug. Knowing it was probably Jaune, she started to cry harder, barely managing to get out all of her apologies. He just held her, letting her cry and scream her apologies. She didn’t know how long it took for her to stop crying, but after what seemed like an eternity, the tears finally stopped. She felt Jaune pull back, but she just stayed where she was, knees bent underneath her, fists clenched tightly on her knees, head bowed. “I’m sorry,” she said again, standing up, hair shadowing her face. 

“I don’t blame any of you if you don’t want to talk to me or the rest of my team again. What we did was unforgivable and unreasonable. We should have sat down and talked about it, like any good team would have done. Instead, I let myself get caught up in Blake and Weiss’s emotions. I have no excuse for my actions. All I can do is apologize for the hurt that I’m responsible for causing you. I…” She trailed off, not knowing what to say. 

She heard Jaune let out a sigh. “You’re right,” he told her, “we can’t forgive you, or your team. What you did to Ruby is unforgivable.”

Yang nodded and turned to walk away, assuming they didn’t want to see her anymore. “But,” he continued, making her freeze, “she was your sister too. I think we all know what it feels like to get sucked into the emotions of a moment and then regret it horribly. No, your actions don’t have an excuse but you regret it. Weiss and Blake clearly don’t. I know this isn’t what Ruby would have wanted. Even if you’re upset and regret what happened, nothing can change it now. There’s no use dwelling on it when there’s a future ahead of us that we need to focus on. It may take a while to get along anything like we used to but.. We don’t hate you Yang.”

Yang looked up, shocked. Before her was Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Sun, and Neptune, all nodding in agreement. She just stared, before smiling and wiping her face clear of tears. “I know,” she told them, smiling. “But I also know that Ruby wouldn’t want this. I know that I probably couldn’t say anything else to tell you all how sorry I am, But I can say that I’ll do my best to make it up to you guys.”

They smiled at her. Even if their friendship would never be the same again, at least they acknowledged that what had happened was in the past and they needed to leave it at that. Maybe in the future, they’d be able to go back to some semblance of what they were at one point in time. Maybe, they’d be able to work side by side to do good in the world, despite the horrible disservice she had done it. They would see in time. And maybe, just maybe, she’d be able to see Ruby again, so that she could properly apologize for being such a shitty sister. 

~5 Years Later~ (Pretend the Fall of Beacon didn’t happen until much later than it actually did)

In a silent, abandoned, town, a figure walked down the main street. The town had clearly been abandoned for years. Many of the buildings were rotting or burned, very few having a stable structure. Quietly, the figure examined the buildings, seeming to search for clues to what had caused this town to become so desolate. Standing up from where they were crouching, the mysterious person sighed. “No luck,” she whispered, sounding weary. 

The figure pulled her hood down to reveal black hair tied in a messy bun so that you could see the deep red tips. This figure was Ruby Rose. She had been missing for five years and was now on her way back. Hopefully, she’d be able to make it in time before something truly terribly bad happened. Even though she had long ago forgiven her former teammates, she was still nervous to go back. She had been gone for so long, and changed so much, that she wondered if they would really recognize her. Even her outfit was different. She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair, undoing her bun. The hair cascaded down her back, flowing over her shoulders like a black waterfall.   
A lot had happened in the five years since she’d left on that cold, rainy night. For one, she’d managed to find a comfortable yet practical outfit. Two months after she’d left Beacon, she decided that she needed a new outfit, something that could help her move on. She ended up going with a black Kimono dress with red trim and rose designs stitched into the black fabric. On her hips, she had her trusty belts, criss-crossing over each other so she could carry what she needed to. She wore black combat boots that had dust infused soles so landings were easier, and had decided to let her hair grow out. She had also upgraded Crescent Rose. The weapon could now shoot at least 100 meters further, could shoot up to three different bullets/dust cartridges at once, and the blade had been remade, this time infused with dust that made it unbreakable and sharper than almost any other weapon in existence. She had been incredibly grateful to the man who’d helped her forge it. 

She’d changed more than just her outfit however. Over the years, she had discovered three women who she had learned were the fall, summer, and winter maidens. It was through them that she’d learned of Salem and Ozpin’s part in the story. It was also through them that she learned of another power she hadn’t known about. Her silver eyes. To her surprise, she had learned that she had the power to incapacitate Grimm by simply looking at them. With practice, she learned she could turn them to stone and even vaporize them. She had made good friends with the maidens and learned many things from them in the time they spent together. 

For her, the most memorable moment in all of her time was when the Winter Maiden, Freida, had passed away. They had been ambushed by some of Salem’s followers and Ruby had been too slow to stop the knife from sinking into her back. In her anger and sadness, she had sent every single minion running, fearful of the silver-eyed woman before them. In her dying moments, Freida had thanked Ruby for showing her an adventure unlike any she had managed before, and for reconnecting her with her sisters, even if it had only been for a brief time. And with her dying breath, the power of the Winter Maiden had found a new host. Ruby Rose. Since then, using her new powers came with no small amount of sadness, though as time went on it dimmed somewhat. From there, she had split from the other Maidens, thanking them for their help but saying there were things she needed to do. They had understood, and wished her well. 

As the five years passed, she knew that she’d gained somewhat of a quiet reputation, much like that of the Grimm Reaper, though not quite as well known. Many places she went to ended up with rumors of a mysterious, red cloaked figure who would walk through a town and be gone in the next two days. Not before, of course, killing any and all Grimm in the area that were giving the town trouble. She had learned a lot in five years. She had learned more about Salem, improved her powers, and met a lot of people along the way who had given her some very valuable information about what her forces were doing. 

And now, she knew it was time to go home. Rumors had been spreading of the awakening of a large Grimm near Beacon, one larger than any that had been seen before. Even with the number of Huntsmen and Huntresses in the area, she knew that they wouldn’t be able to handle an attack on the scale of what the rumors were suggesting. From where she was now, she was about a weeks journey away by foot. A journey which she knew would take too long. Lucky for her, she had a semblance built around speed, and she should be able to get there in time to at least start helping people before things got too bad. Pulling her hood back up, she checked her scroll to make sure that her things were still where they should be. Once she was sure she put her scroll away and took off down the path, a trail of white and red petals floating to the ground behind her, the only evidence that anyone had been there. 

~Six Days Later~

When Jaune got a call from Glynda Goodwitch, he had been eating dinner with his team. After they had graduated from Beacon, they’d decided to move into a house together, to cut down on cost and to be able to stay together as a team. Confused, he answered the phone, “yes?”

“Jaune,” a stern, but slightly panicked voice replied, “we need you and your team here at Beacon immediately. We’re under attack. If you see them, please bring team WBY with you.”

He immediately stood up. There had been rumors of an attack for a few months now, so they had been on call. But now that it was actually happening? Jaune didn’t know what to think. When his teammates looked at him, he told them, “we need to go. Beacon is under attack.”

In almost no time at all, they had packed away everything and were ready at the door, getting into the vehicle. For once not caring about speed limits, Jaune put the pedal to the metal and drove as fast as he could to Beacon. As they got closer, they were horrified by the sight. Some parts of Beacon had crumbled, almost as if they’d been hit by a bomb. On one side, the White Fang could be seen, attacking people left and right. In another area, they could see rouge Atlesian robots, probably stolen if looks were anything to go by. And the rest? The rest was swarming with Grimm. Teachers and students alike were fighting the beasts, doing everything they could to stop the swarm. Team JNPR joined as a unified front, assaulting the beasts mercilessly with an onslaught of vicious combination moves and individual power moves, carving a path through the monsters. At some point, they saw Weiss, Blake, and Yang fighting, also as a unified front. In the time since Ruby had disappeared, they had made up, Weiss and Blake coming to realize the mistake they had made. 

Making eye contact, they nodded at each other before going back into the battle. At one point, it almost seemed like they were winning. That was, until, a bright flash of orange lit up the dark sky and they saw Cinder Fall floating above them, a smug look in her eyes. “You cannot win,” she told them. 

Everyone grit their teeth. Yes, they could. Cinder dropped to the ground, creating fires in her wake, before joining in the fight, decimating their forces. Things only seemed to get worse when a deep, threatening roar was heard. Looking up, there were screams as they saw a massive Wyvern flying through the sky. Cinder cackled, clearly thinking she had won. And for a while, it seemed like she had. Jaune wasn’t sure how long they had been fighting. At some point, Oscar, a reincarnation of Ozpin, had joined them in the fight. They had learned some of the story of Ozpin after the kid named Oscar had shown up at their door one night, claiming he was their former headmaster. They had all ended up accepting it, after all, weirder things had happened. By now, many students had been taken away from the battlefield and the remaining forces were dwindling. As the wyvern drew closer, Jaune felt his stomach sink further and further, hope going with it. 

And then, suddenly, there was a shout. “CINDER!” The battle froze. Both sides seemed confused and afraid at the terrifying voice that had just shouted loud enough to be heard over an entire battle. A terrifyingly familiar voice. Turning around, he saw a red cloaked figure, standing at the edge of the battlefield, holding an oh so familiar scythe-gun hybrid. “Ruby?” Jaune breathed, almost not believing it. 

A sudden gust of wind over the still battlefield blew the hood down and he saw the familiar face of the friend he hadn’t seen in five years. But, she was different from what he remembered. Her eyes had an odd shine to them, reflecting the moonlight in a way he’d never seen before. Her face had lines of wisdom and battles etched into it, but not enough to detract from her beauty. Slowly, the missing girl stepped forward, a path parting as she walked towards Cinder. The older woman smirked. “So, finally decided to show up have you?” Cinder asked mockingly. 

Ruby replied, “you know why I’m here Cinder.”

“Ah, yes,” Cinder yawned, “you’re here to take down the wyvern.”

Ruby’s eyes flashed. “That’s not the only reason,” she growled. 

Cinder chuckled. “Oh, right, you’re still after Salem,” she grinned. 

When Ruby didn’t say anything, Cinder laughed. “Well, before everything starts up again, I thought you might like to know something,” Cinder said, in a dark voice.   
She lifted her hand up and summoned a fiery wind around her hand, her eyes suddenly surrounded by wings of fire. Everyone watched as Ruby’s expression went from shock to sadness. “No…” she said, everyone watching as a horrified look came over her face. 

Cinder laughed. Even though Jaune didn’t know the whole story, he felt sad and angry with Ruby, knowing that Cinder showing her this power probably had some sort of meaning. “Seems she wasn’t quite as powerful as you all thought, was she?” Cinder mocked. 

Next to him, Ozpin, through Oscar, looked sad and horrified. “No…” He whispered. “Amber…”

Everyone watched as Ruby turned murderous. “How.. How dare you?” Ruby growled. 

“Hah, I had every right you stupid girl. And now that the beast is almost here, I think it’s time to take care of the rest of these pathetic huntsmen and huntresses,” Cinder laughed. 

“NO!” Ruby screamed, eyes glowing white. 

As they glowed brighter and brighter, Jaune closed his eyes, not wanting to be blinded. When it finally died down, he looked and saw that every single Grimm on the battlefield had been turned to stone. A crash in the distance signaled the fall of the Wyvern, the giant beast reduced to ash. Everyone stared at Ruby, a mixture of emotions visible. Some looked at her with awe, and some, with horror. It took Cinder a moment to realize what had happened. Then, as she looked around and saw what Ruby had done, her face fell, morphing into a look of anger. To the side, he saw the White Fang and the rogue robots running, clearly terrified of the power this ‘mysterious’ figure had. “What?” Cinder shrieked. “Salem said there were no more of you!”

Ruby’s grin turned dark, “that’s because when she sent people to kill my mother, she thought that she was the last.”

Cinder seemed unable to form coherent words, while Ozpin, and Qrow, who’d appeared next to Ozpin just looked upon the scene sadly. “Your forces have either been killed or run. Give up Cinder Fall,” Ruby Commanded. 

Cinder looked angry. “No!” She shouted, preparing to launch herself at Ruby. 

She looked almost, hesitant, however, when Ruby just laughed. “You have no idea who you’re up against, do you?” Ruby said, almost too softly for anyone to hear. “Truly, a shame. It’s sad to see the power of such a strong maiden go to waste on an imposter who will never, truly, be a maiden.”

Cinder screamed and lunged at Ruby, people diving out of the way so they didn’t get hit in her fiery rage. Everyone saw how Ruby just smiled before disappearing into a shower of red, and is that white?, petals. The battle, though it seemed to last for an eternity, only lasted for a few minutes. Ruby and Cinder exchanged blows faster than the eye could follow, no one daring to enter and help but everyone wanting to. Jaune was struck by how much more powerful Ruby seemed, not only in the way that she wielded herself, and her weapon, but also in her aura. Thinking about that, Jaune realized that in the five years that she had been missing, there was a lot that had changed about his friend, even her outfit. At one point, her hood had been knocked down and he was surprised by how long her hair was. 

Finally, Cinder was kicked away, creating a crater in the ground where she was kicked. Ruby walked towards her, standing in front of her fallen enemy. And then, something happened. Ruby’s eyes started to glow, the shape shifting between bird and butterfly wings. A cold wind swept up underneath her and she started to rise in the air, her cloak billowing behind her and her scythe hanging loosely in her hand. “Ruby…” Ozpin and Qrow breathed, seeming shocked. 

“Cinder Fall, you are not, and never have been, worthy of the power you stole. For this, you have been judged and deemed guilty. May your final rest be unpeaceful,” Ruby told the cowering woman.

And with those final words, she swung her scythe and stabbed Cinder through the heart. The woman let out a choked gasp, looking down at the wound. Grimly, Ruby pulled out the weapon and stood before her, everyone watching as the woman started to disintegrate into ashes, almost fitting giving her semblance was based around fire. The only thing that was left was an orange-yellow glowing ball of energy. Holding it over her hand, she looked around, a look of sadness in her eyes, before seeming to notice one person in particular. Before she moved again and said, “if you are injured, please, go to the infirmary. The only people I want out here are Team WBY, Team JNPR, and any teachers.”  
People seemed hesitant to move, but the look she gave sent many people running to get themselves looked after. After a few moments, the only ones left on the battlefield were General Ironwood, Qrow, Ozpin/Oscar, Glynda Goodwitch, Professors Port and Ooblek, team JNPR, and team BWY. Still holding the glowing ball, they approached each other until they were standing a few feet away from each other. Seeing them, she let out a sigh then smiled, looking tired. “It’s good to see all of you again,” she said, looking at them. “I’m sorry for not coming back sooner, things ended up taking longer than I thought they would. Before we get any further however, I have one more thing to do.”  
Everyone held their breath as she walked slowly to Pyrrha. When she was standing in front of the taller girl, Ruby sighed, “Pyrrha, what I’m about to ask is not something you should take lightly. In my hand, I hold the power of the Fall Maiden, yes, the one from the fairly tale. Cinder was never the true owner of the power, it now falls upon the closest Maiden to choose a new host for the power.”

“Now hold on,” Ironwood said, stepping forward, “I hardly think it’s in your jurisdiction to choose who gets that power.”

Ruby gave him a cold look. “I’m the most qualified person in the area, so if you could kindly shut up and let me do my job,” she practically snarled. Turning back to Pyrrha, she continued, “you don’t have to accept this power of course. If you choose not to, I will send it to find a truly worthy person.”

Pyrrha looked at her, seeming to consider what she had been told. After a while, Pyrrha let out a breath, causing everyone else to hold theirs, waiting for her decision. “I’m honored that you’ve decided that I’m worthy,” Pyrrha smiled. “And, I’ve chosen to accept.”

Ruby let out a sigh of relief. “I’d be lying if I said I’m not relieved to hear that,” Ruby smiled. “Prepare yourself, it’s not the most pleasant process.”

Pyrrha nodded, steeling herself. Holding out her hand, Ruby gently pressed the glowing light into Pyrrha’s chest. It took a moment before anything happened, but when it did, Pyrhha was surrounded by a fiery orange glow, causing her to float a few inches off the ground. Though she didn’t scream, her face screwed up in pain, causing her teammates to try and approach her. Ruby held up a hand, telling them to stop. After a few moments, she finally stopped floating, landing back on the ground and opening her eyes, which were briefly surrounded by fiery wings before disappearing. Ruby smiled, “well, now that that’s over, I think I can breathe.”

It only took a moment for Pyrrha to pull her into a hug, surprising the girl. The rest of team JNPR quickly joined, babbling on about how glad they were that she was back and how much they had missed her. When they pulled away, she walked over to the professors and shook their hands, telling them that she’d missed them and thanking them for giving her the skills she needed to survive. To General Ironwood, she simply nodded her head, clearly still peeved with him about telling her what to do. She smiled warmly at Oscar/Ozpin and said, “it’s good to see you again.”

Oscar nodded and told her, “it’s been a while, but it’s good to see you too.”

Qrow had pulled her into a hug, quietly scolding her for running off like that. She just smiled and ignored the fact that she felt a tear drip onto her shoulder. Pulling away, she turned to the final three people who hadn’t said anything so far. Weiss, Yang, and Blake all stood before her, looking guilty. “Ruby,” Weiss started, “we’re…”

Ruby held up her hand. “Don’t. I got over it a long time ago. I understand why you did and said what you did, but that doesn’t mean that all is forgiven. My goal right now is to find, and kill, Salem. I’m willing to work as a team until then, but after that, I can’t make any promises,” she told them, an emotionless look on her face. 

The rest of her team looked hurt, but Yang stepped forward and said, “that’s okay. I understand. We, understand. And.. I’m sorry. What I did was inexcusable Ruby.”

Ruby just gave her a tired look. “Yes, it was,” Ruby said, almost bitterly. “But there’s no point dwelling on the past. Like I said, I’m over it, and now, my main goal is to kill Salem so I can live my life freely, not having to worry about being hunted or losing anymore of my sisters.”

Ruby’s voice got a pained tone near the end of her little speech. At that, Oscar stepped forward and in Ozpin’s voice asked, “Ruby, if I may ask, how did you manage to come about gaining the power of the Winter Maiden?”

Ruby growled, “her name was Freida, Ozpin. You and I will be having words when all is said and done. As it happened, I was the last person on her mind when she was stabbed in the back by one of Salem’s men. I was already angry at Salem, but now that I know she led to the death of Amber, there isn’t a force on Remnant that could stop me from finding and killing her.”

Ozpin looked chastised, but nodded. “I understand Miss Rose,” he said. 

“So uh, Ruby,” Jaune started, “would you mind telling us what’s going on?”

Ruby sighed, “long story short, there’s an evil woman named Salem who’s trying to take over this world. She’s the one who controls the Grimm, and she’s been the one responsible for everything that’s happened up to now. The Maidens are the ones from the fairly tales, the ones who have the powers of the seasons. There are four artifacts scattered around Remnant which when put together will summon back the gods of old to pass judgement. Ozpin was once a great warrior named Ozma, who was reincarnated to fight Salem. She became what she is today because she refused to accept the fact that her love had died. Now, she is a twisted, horrible being hell bent on seeing the destruction of everything the gods created.”

Everyone stared at her, shocked by what she had said. Well, everyone other than Ozpin. “What Miss Rose has told you is true,” Ozpin said, sighing. 

“And before anyone asks any questions, Ozpin and I need to have a chat. Sorry Oscar, but I need to borrow Ozpin for a bit longer,” Ruby said, grabbing the boy’s wrist. Then, thinking of something, she turned and gave him a glare, “and don’t you dare think of disappearing.”

Ozpin just sighed, resigning himself to be dragged off by the woman. As they left, everyone stared. Ironwood made a hasty exit, saying he had some affairs he needed to take care of, but was probably just too stubborn to say that he didn’t want to be there now that Ozpin was gone. When he’d left, Qrow let out an angry huff. They all looked at him, confused. “I can’t fucking believe it,” he ranted. “How did she get drawn into all of this?” 

“What do you mean?” Yang asked, confused. 

“This!” Qrow gestured around. “What happened? She’s so… different. I know that the silver eyes come with a burden, but now that she’s a maiden? What the hell happened?”  
Everyone looked down. No one was quite sure, but they could pinpoint the exact moment that it had started. Trying to break the awkward silence, Nora commented, “sooo, Ruby’s different.”

Everyone gave her a deadpan look. “No, seriously guys, beyond who she’s become over her travels,” she elaborated. “I mean, have you seen her outfit? It’s so badass! And her fighting? It’s faster than I remember!”

“That’s true,” Ren said. “She has changed a great deal.”

“I do have to say that her outfit is definitely different. It shows how much she’s grown, I think,” Pyrhha commented. 

They nodded, no one quite sure what to say. In the end, they decided that it would be best if they went home to go sleep on it, because what else could they do?Their missing friend had just appeared, more powerful than the last time they saw her, and was more badass than ever. Sometimes, all someone needs to do is go on a trip to find themselves and sometimes, all it takes is a little push for them to do it. Will they find and defeat Salem? Who knows. That’s a story, for another time.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is my first RWBY fanfic, so I hope you enjoy! It was kindof an idea that I had to be honest. As always, leave a comment and drop a like! Sorry for not updating the main fic, I've been having trouble coming up with ideas. 
> 
> Love you all,   
> Ravenloft Resident


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